Monster
by Noctiluna
Summary: This will have yaoi. At various parts of the story it will be Ichi/Renji Ichi/Grimm and Ichi/Aizen/Ichi. At some points it will be a mix of those at the same time. If this bothers anyone, don't read the story. Umm violence. Cannabalism?
1. Prologue

**Warnings: yaoi (male/male), language, and violence.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own anything but the plot and my laptop they currently inhabit.**

**Prologue**

Ichigo sat back and watched Renji wolf down Orihime's newest attempt at cooking. From the looks on Chad's and Rukia'sfaces they couldn't believe that Renji hadn't died of food poisoning. When Renji started turning colors and foaming at the mouth everyone felt better. Orihime's cooking left something to be desired after all.

'Hey King' came a low hiss from Shiro 'there are hollows near here. We should go have some fun.' It was still strange to hear his hollow's voice and not immediately be on the defensive, wondering if he would have to fight for control of his body again. They had reached an understanding though, and hopefully the fight for dominance was permanently postponed. Besides, as long as he kept his end of the bargain, he got to use Shiro's full powers and form. He was not telling Urahara that though, he had no desire to be experimented on.

'Yeah, we can go take care of the hollows. Though I have the sneaking suspicion that you're just hungry,' Ichigo replied. "Hey guys, I'll see you later. I've got hollows to kill." After a chorus of "stay safe"'s and an oddly knowing look from Chad, he was off hunting hollows.

He could feel Shiro shifting in the back of his mind and Zangetsu thrumming with anticipation of the fight to come. The excitement spread through him and he was moving quicker until he reached a cluster of hollows.

Ichigo took a deep breath and began the shift into his new fully hollow form. He had to use it to get used to it after all. There was an uncomfortable feeling of stretching followed by the shifting of his human flesh into something far harder and colder. There was an odd twinge in the area his soul chain used to be, and he braced just before the Hunger hit. For a moment it was all consuming and he wanted nothing more than to feed. Then the hunger faded, not gone but greatly reduced and so manageable.

He opened his eyes and fell upon the weak beings that stood before him. They were nothing to his strength and in moments he had consumed them all.

Meanwhile, from the top of a building, an Espada with blue hair and a penchant for violence watched with disbelieving eyes as the scene below played out. Turning he opened a gargantua and returned to Hueco Mundo with the intention of telling Aizen of this new development.


	2. Monster 1

**Warnings and Disclaimer in prologue.**

**Monstrous Acts**

Ichigo let go of his new form and concentrated on changing back. He had no desire to head back home just yet, so he walked the street of his town making sure everything was okay. He was reminded of the times before he met Rukia, and got tangled up with Soul Society, when he would walk down these same streets protecting what was his. The only differences now were the form of his enemy and the monster in him had a name and a voice now. A low cold laugh in the back of his mind let him know Shiro agreed with him.

He thought of the look Chad gave him earlier and resolved to go talk with him. Out of everyone, Chad was the only one he knew would be on his side regardless of anything. After all, Chad knew Ichigo was a monster long before they were friends, before Chad was his and was mostly safe. Chad had told him "I would rather have your claws at my back even if I get hit with them because no one else would dare bother me."

Ichigo knew of all his friends that Chad was also the only one who knew that the only reason he fought for Soul Society was because his friends fought for them. If he had met one of the arrancar first things would have been much different.

Soul Society was being stupid though, and Ichigo had a feeling that he was going to end up on the other side of the war anyway. It was this feeling he got when he was there, like the world itself was angry and would erupt at any minute. It set his teeth on edge.

Looking up, Ichigo realized he had reached Chad's apartment. He walked into the living room and shouted, "Yo Chad, are you here?" "Back room," Chad replied, and Ichigo walked in the direction of the muffled thumps. He stuck his head in Chad's bedroom and his eyebrows shot up in surprise. "Is that a new fashion statement," Ichigo blurted, trying to absorb the sight of Chad wearing a knit hat with ducks on it.

"Bugs chewed a hole in the ceiling and the hat fell through when I moved a box," Chad replied. "Really, I thought for sure you would have taken it off by now," Ichigo snorted. "I can't find my abuelo's picture," Chad said and Ichigo's attitude changed instantly. "I'll help you look," he said and moved to the other side of the closet and began going through the boxes.

Twenty minutes later, a dust covered Ichigo held the prize aloft. "For you," Ichigo said with an exaggerated bow and a grin and handed the photograph over to Chad. "So what brought you over here?" Chad asked, "Not that you're unwelcome." At the look of seriousness that came over Ichigo's face, Chad moved to the couch. "I can tell this is going to be a long discussion," Chad said, "so we might as well be comfortable."

After sitting down Ichigo spoke, "If Soul Society does something stupid and I change sides, who do you think I would be able to count on?" Chad blinked in surprise and replied "other than me you mean. Ishida has no love for the Shinigami, so he would be neutral at the very least. Orihime believes too strongly that the war is split into the righteous and the monsters. She would probably stay with Soul Society. Renji knows at a very base level what you are and that you'd keep him safe. He would probably choose to remain with you. I'm not sure about Rukia. She knows what a fickle place Soul Society can be, however she has recently been accepted as a noble. I do not believe however that she would act against you directly, out of gratitude or perhaps loyalty. I don't know any of the other Shinigami well enough to form an accurate opinion. As for Urahara… you know him best."

"Thanks Chad," Ichigo said closing his eyes. "I think I'm going to just crash over here." Chad nodded and said "you know you're always welcome here any time Ichigo. You know where everything is.

p.o.v

Aizen sat back in his chair with a pensive look on his face. He was not sure what to do about the new development with Kurosaki. As tempting as it was to believe that he was no threat, the fact remained that in the two months since he had obtained his information the child had moved from barely being able to fight one arrancar to being able to massacre over two hundred. The kind of growth rate that implied was worrying.

Unlike the rest of the Shinigami, Kurosaki did not seem to be looking for the confrontations. Every time he had gotten word of Kurosaki's interference had been when his friends were involved or Karakura was the battleground. If Kurosaki was acting as a protector rather than an aggressor, perhaps he could be persuaded to, at the least, become neutral.

The thought of having such potential on his side was very appealing, and he knew that if he could simply gain Kurosaki's loyalty he would gain an ally who would remain loyal, unless he did something to break that loyalty. The only thing keeping some of the espada from trying to kill him was their fear of him. Somehow he doubted that anything could affect Kurosaki's actions but what Kurosaki himself thought. Kurosaki reminded Aizen of a feral wolf, cunning and vicious.

p.o.v.

Ichigo was up early to get home in enough time t take his sisters to school. With the increase in hollows he wasn't comfortable letting them walk alone. He knew he was being paranoid, but they were definitely out to get him. Karen and Yuzu could just deal with it. Besides, there were rumors of hollows stronger than arrancar popping up everywhere which did little for his piece of mind. He knew Kon would do his best to protect his family, but Kon could barely hold his own against an arrancar.

The number of arrancar showing up was odd though. There were more of them, but they were staying around the edges and not many entered the city proper. They were also acting weird, and not attacking unless they were reacting to Shinigami attacks. It was making him antsy, and he was always on the lookout for attacks. If the arrancar were changing their actions, either something had scared them or they had new orders. The thought of a bigger nasty did not sit well with him. Neither did the thought of new orders because it meant that the enemy would be harder to predict. Something had to have happened for Aizen to change his orders so drastically.

'Or Soul Society did something that made him change them,' Shiro suggested. 'I was trying not to think about that,' Ichigo replied, 'because if they messed with my territory, I am going to hurt people.'

p.o.v.

Aizen wanted to start making overtures towards the reduction of hostility against Ichigo. If he could get some people to become friendly with Ichigo, that would be even better. The fact that the first contact Ichigo had with Soul Society was someone who was friendly and had tried to protect his family was probably why Ichigo was willing to fight for Soul Society. 'He is protective of his home and his friends,' Aizen mused. 'It would be easier to present my side if a few Espada were among those close to Ichigo.'

Actually this was a perfect way to fix the problem with Neliel. He would send Grimmjow to Ichigo and have Grimmjow explain what had happened to reduce Neliel to a toddler. A few mentions of how she would be in danger if left on her own might have Ichigo more willing to see arrancar and espada as people rather than enemies. Not that he would have left her on her own, but if he had not found her it could have been an issue.

"We may have problems," Grimmjow blurted as he ran in. "Word is that the Vizards are moving to Karakura. They're interested in Kurosaki, and if they sway him into their group he may feel that they have more to offer him." "Or he may bring them all against Soul Society if they attack and the Visards have allied themselves to Kurosaki," Aizen replied "but I do see your point. This bears watching anyway. Keep watch on Kurosaki and Ulquiorra will attend to the matter of the Vizards.

With a wave Aizen sent a fraccion to retrieve Ulqiorra. As much as it bothered him to admit a falacy, he simply could not predict what Ichigo would do in any given situation. Undoubtedly, Ichigo would protect what he considered his but that was the only certainty he had. There was something that was bothering him about Ichigo's abilities, but he couldn't quite remember what it was.

p.o.v.

Ichigo was training in the basement of the Shoten when Renji came in. Renji looked strangely pale and he smelled off, like rust and vinegar. "Are you all right," Ichigo asked as he reached out to steady Renji. "No," was the reply, "I think they put something in the food. I was supposed to go see Bayakuya, but when I started feeling strange I came to find you."

Renji was leaning all of his weight on Ichigo and Ichigo knew that whatever was affecting Renji was very bad; Renji had walked with wounds that would down someone with less willpower. "Let's get you to Urahara and we'll see if he can fix you," Ichigo said, mentally going through the escape routes. If someone came after Renji he needed to be able to get Renji out safely before he worried about revenge.

Lifting Renji into his arms he turned and climbed the stairs yelling for Urahara. When he reached the top of the stairs the smirk dropped off of Urahara's face as he gestured Ichigo into his 'office.' "What happened to Renji?" Urahara asked as he pulled various devices from shelves and a small white box labeled 'Renji' from a safe in the back wall. "I don't know, he came in this way," Ichigo replied "but he said he thought it was something in the food." Ichigo watched as Urahara ran several devices over Renji and took a small amount of blood. The blood he put in a microwave looking thing with hollow squares along the bottom, and Urahara began to write down whatever the devices were telling him. When Urahara took the blood out his face paled drastically and his mouth settled into a grim line.

"Renji is stable for the moment," Urahara said, "but there are things you need to know and then you must make a choice." "So tell me," Ichigo snapped. "Shinigami have no physical bodies so if their reitsu ever totally depletes, they die. Because of the importance of reitsu, Shinigami naturally block their reitsu from outside forces so sharing reitsu is a very big thing. Usually one of two things lead to the sharing of reitsu, sex or healing kidou, but kidou is, by nature, temporary. Healers are in their own division instead of spread between divisions because they can affect reitsu which makes the other Shinigami nervous. Sex, on the other hand, forms a link between the participants. The strength of that connection depends on previous emotions and the strength of both partners' reitsu, ranging from weak bonds that dissolve in hours and permanent bonds that never fade."

After making sure Ichigo was listening, Urahara continued, "There are small parasites in Renji's blood that are eating away his reitsu. They are set to detonate if anyone tries to remove them from his bloodstream. The good news is that they will dissolve harmlessly in about two days, the bad news is that there are so many parasites that Renji's reitsu will be gone in roughly seven hours." Ichigo wondered if Urahara was trying to tell him that Renji was going to die. "Your spiritual energy is immense," Urahara said "and if a link was formed between you, you would be able to keep him alive until the parasites dissolve. However, a link at your level of power for that duration of time would be permanent and Renji would also probably react to a link like that the way he would to a lover, and his feelings may change to reflect that." "It's a change he'll still be alive to make," Ichigo said, "so I fail to see the problem."

"The problem," Urahara replied, "is that by doing this, you are effectively claiming Renji as part of your 'pack' for lack of a better word. It would be a challenge to whoever is currently declaring him as theirs." Ichigo snorted, "They obviously aren't doing very good at it or he would have gone to them and not me. Stop stalling and tell me how to save Renji." Urahara shook his head, "go over to Renji and put your hand on his chest. Let yourself feel his reitsu and imagine your reitsu is moving into him like threads."

Ichigo could feel how Renji's reitsu was moving through his body in random patterns. "Ok," he said, "I can feel it." "Good," Urahara said, "now remove any knots you see." Ichigo frowned and looked harder, pushing his reitsu deeper into Renji, and then shook his head. "I don't see any knots." Urahara's eyebrows shot into his hat. "Are you absolutely sure?" he asked sounding very angry. Startled at the tone Ichigo looked over at Urahara and nodded. "Ok," Urahara replied, taking a deep breath and letting it out slowly. "Ok, you want to wind your reitsu and his together at his forehead, heart, and lower abdomen. Make sure it won't come unwound or it could hurt him."

Ichigo focused on putting his reitsu where Urahara told him and began to twine his reitsu in. He was almost thrown off balance by how strongly Renji's reitsu reacted to his, as it seemed to be forming a death grip. As Renji's reitsu mixed with Ichigo's, Renji let out a soft sound and a great deal of the tension left his body. The low growling sound from Urahara had Ichigo's head whipping to face him. "What's going on with you?" Ichigo demanded moving between Urahara and Renji's vulnerable body. If Urahara was going to do something stupid, he would have to go through Ichigo to do it.

A startled look crossed Urahara's face and he raised his hands. "I'm angry at whoever did their job wrong at the academy. There should have been knots in his reitsu because all Shinigami are taught how to make them if they don't make them instinctively. It is required both for kidou and for safely using bankai. As it is he is lucky not to be dead a thousand times over."

Ichigo had relaxed hid defensive stance at Urahara's explanation, but he was no less angry. "So these people didn't teach him how to stay alive. What now, will he still be in danger?" Urahara shook his head, "Your reitsu has created those knots, so he should be fine now." Ichigo nodded and asked with a vicious gleam in his eyes "how would I go about finding who was supposed to teach Renji this technique?"

Urahara looked at Ichigo for a moment, and then told him "Just ask Renji who his kidou instructor was. They are the ones who are supposed to teach reitsu control." Ichigo nodded and turned back to Renji.


	3. Monster 2

**Warnings and Disclaimer in prologue.**

**Monstrous Plots**

Grimmjow frowned as he considered what he had heard. He didn't know if Aizen would be angry that Kurosaki was tied tighter to the Shinigami, or if he would be pleased that Soul Society had tried to harm someone who Kurosaki obviously cared for and considered his. Kurosaki was obviously a natural alpha, though, because the first thing he had worried about was his Shinigami's safety and then how to revenge the wrongs done. Grimmjow was rather impressed, even if he didn't want to be.

Grimmjow stood and went to go find Ulquiorra. He needed to find out what was going on with the vizards before he could give his report, and he needed to get back to Aizen quickly. He had the feeling that if Kurosaki gained ties to the vizards before he gained ties to them, they would probably lose any chance of swaying him. Kurosaki was loyal and that trait in someone with Kurosaki's powers made him very dangerous.

Upon returning to Hueco Mundo, Grimmjow found Aizen speaking to a small blue haired arrancar who smelled familiar. He waited until Aizen motioned for him to speak, and he began his report. "The vizards have not contacted Kurosaki yet. They seem to be setting up a base first." Hesitating slightly, Grimmjow told Aizen of the conversation he had heard regarding Kurosaki's Shinigami.

P.O.V.

Aizen was surprised that Soul Society would compromise the good will of a very powerful ally, but if their arrogance drove Ichigo to him, then he certainly was not going to complain. The bond with the Shinigami bothered him because it increased Ichigo's positive ties to Soul Society, and without seeing what the people in power were doing, Ichigo would not see the corruption and malevolence within it. The circumstances in which the bond had been formed may cause Ichigo to distrust Soul Society though, if for no other reason than they hurt what Ichigo considered his. Sighing, Aizen gave the orders to take Neliel to Ichigo but he changed them a little. "Instead of simply leaving Neliel there, remain with Ichigo under the pretext of making sure she is alright.

Once Grimmjow had gone, Aizen went to his room. Thinking back he tried to remember where he had heard about abnormal growth rates before. The way Ichigo gained power reminded him of something, but he was having a very hard time remembering what. It was right there but he simply could not grasp it.

P.O.V.

Ichigo turned when he heard Renji groan. He had been slightly worried that Renji was not going to wake up. "What happened?" Renji croaked. Ichigo handed him water and explained about the parasites. "So I'm going to die?" Renji whispered. "Of course not," Ichigo snapped. "If Urahara hadn't known how to save you I wouldn't be here. I'd still be in Soul Society kicking asses and knocking heads until I had something that would work." Renji relaxed back when he heard that, "So what did Urahara do to fix me?" Ichigo hesitated slightly before explaining.

When Ichigo got to the part about the reitsu transfer, Renji went still. "So you're telling me that you" Renji began, stopped and took a deep breath. Began again. "We're linked right now?" Ichigo nodded, "yeah, I'm feeding you reitsu to keep you alive." Renji leaned back and shivered at Ichigo's words. "Are you blocking me from feeling it?" "Mostly," Ichigo said, "Urahara said it would be better for you not to wake up and my reitsu be the first thing you notice." Renji nodded and swallowed loudly. "Could I get something to eat? Preferably parasite free," Renji asked. "Yeah, hang on. I'll get you something and Urahara should probably check you over," Ichigo said as he walked out.

Ichigo went to the kitchen and found Urahara there with three bowls of food. "I figured he would wake up about now," Urahara said sounding subdued. It raised the hair on the back of Ichigo's neck, but Urahara had yet to do anything that would break his trust. Moving to stand I front of Urahara, Ichigo said, "you've been weird since this shit started. What's going on with you?" "Let's go eat and I'll explain some things to both of you," Urahara said, picking up one of the bowls. When they walked back into the room, Renji looked up and his stomach growled, causing him to blush. Ichigo smirked and said "It's probably a good thing I brought two bowls if that sound was any indication," as he handed the bowls to Renji. Ichigo ignored the look Urahara gave him, sat next to Renji, and turned to listen to Urahara.

"Renji, when you were in kidou training, what was the first lesson they gave?" Urahara began. Renji frowned, "I only got through theory, there was a skirmish with hollows the first day and the instructor was killed. The ones who lived were sent to the healers and I guess they forgot to reenroll us in that class." Urahara looked startled but most of the tension and anger were gone, and Ichigo decided he was only going to hurt people for forgetting, rather than slaughter them for trying to kill Renji. "Why," Reni asked, "Is something wrong?"

Urahara looked tense again and told Renji about the knots that he should have had. "So I should have died every time I used Zabimaru?" Renji asked incredulously. Urahara nodded, "the knots are what keep your reitsu attached and safe within your body rather than your kidou or bankai pulling all of it out of you. The point is rather moot now though, because Ichigo does that for you now." Renji nodded as he finished the food. He turned to Ichigo, "let me feel your reitsu." Urahara was immediately worried, "I'm not sure that's a good idea." Renji shook his head, "I know, but I want to feel it anyway." Frowning, Ichigo looked between them. "Why is it a bad idea?" he asked. Urahara hesitated and sighed, "Look Renji, wait another hour so we know if you're going to collapse again before you put that kind of stress on your body." "What stress?" Ichigo said louder, and was still ignored. "Fine," Renji said, "but you don't get to interfere next time." "Guys!" Ichigo shouted, "What are you talking about?" "Just the stress that feeling a new reitsu under your barriers can cause," Renji said. Ichigo looked closely at Renji for a moment before nodding. "So does he have anything else wrong with him?"

"Besides the parasites, he's fine. Is it difficult to keep the transfer going?" Urahara asked. "Not really," Ichigo answered, "the main problem I'm having is not giving Renji too much reitsu too fast." Renji and Urahara looked at each other and Renji casually asked, "I'm not putting much of a strain on you, am I." Ichigo shrugged and shook his head. Looking at Renji's pale complexion Ichigo suggested Renji lay back down for a while.


	4. Monster 3

**Warnings and Disclaimer in prologue.**

**Monstrous Power**

As Aizen was going over his notes, he froze. 'Ichigo is a human. Ichigo has a hollow. Ichigo has a hollow with a living human body. No wonder he got strong so fast. If his hollow is eating tiny pieces of his soul Ichigo's soul regenerates and, conversely, when Ichigo defeats opponents he gains power like an arrancar. Ichigo was in an endless power feedback loop.' There was no way Aizen would permit Soul Society to get their hands on Ichigo. If he could get that kind of power, he wouldn't even need the king's key.

He had to speed his plans if he wanted to be able to convince Ichigo that his side was the better option. Until then he would simply have to wait. While he did not like it, he had gotten quite good at it.

P.O.V

When Renji woke up it was dark out. He looked around and saw Ichigo drowsing in the far corner, but he had no doubts that if there was an attack, Ichigo would be up and ready instantly. He shifted and Ichigo's head came up and turned towards him. "You ok?" Ichigo asked and Renji nodded. "I don't feel like I had a run in with Captain Kenpachi, at least," Renji said and got Ichigo to smile. "You certainly looked it earlier," Ichigo told him. The smile faded from Ichigo's face and he looked slightly apprehensive. "Renji," Ichigo said, "are you sure I'm not going to hurt you?" For a moment Renji had no idea what Ichigo was talking about, then he did and he nodded. "It isn't like you'll be attacking me, so I'll be fine," Renji reassured. Still looking worried, Ichigo asked "How do you want to do this?" After thinking for a moment, Renji decided the best bet would be having skin contact, so there would be less feeling of hostility from a foreign reitsu. "We should probably take our shirts off and sit back-to-back to make this as easy as possible." Ichigo looked at him for a moment then nodded and removed his shirt.

As Renji was removing his own shirt, Urahara walked in. Renji was annoyed, "You said you wouldn't interfere," he reminded Urahara. Urahara nodded, "I won't. I'm just here to help incase anything goes wrong." Renji turned so he and Ichigo could sit together. "Now what?" Ichigo asked. "Let go of around a tenth of your reitsu first, and increase it by another tenth every forty-five seconds," Renji instructed as he relaxed as much as he could. "Ok," Ichigo said, and Renji felt Ichigo's power like a fist to the gut. It was immense, and Renji figured that Ichigo had accidentally let go all at once. Renji adjusted and as he was about to memorize the feeling he was hit with another wave of reitsu, as strong as the first. Eyes widening, Renji was drowning under the force of Ichigo's power. 'If this is only two tenths of his power, I don't know if I'll survive.' When the third wave of Ichigo's power spilled over him, Renji could barely breathe and was slipping in and out of delirium. When the fourth wave came, his natural resistance shattered and, instead of felling like he was being crushed, he felt like electric currents were spilling through his body. Shivers wracked him and Renji fell limp against Ichigo's back. 'This is insane. It isn't even _half_ his power.' The fifth wave intensified the sensation and Renji couldn't stop pressing as much skin against Ichigo as he could manage. Renji was vaguely aware of someone calling his name, and then Urahara was in front of him.

"Do you need to stop?" Urahara asked urgently. Renji shook his head, responding only to make the distraction go away, so he could focus on the power rolling over him. Then the sixth wave hit him, and he was unable to stop the low moan from coming out of his mouth. The next thing he was aware of was that he had been moved to Ichigo's lap and that he was rubbing his cheek against Ichigo's chest. Renji was extremely grateful for this as the seventh wave hit, because now Ichigo could keep Renji upright against him. Ichigo's power felt like cashmere or fur, rubbing on the inside of Renji's skin and nerves. Renji felt floaty and very, very good; he was only barely aware of his hips rocking against Ichigo's and of the soft grunts he was making. Renji saw Urahara move closer, but he only knew about Ichigo's growl from the vibrations against his cheek. He felt a surge of satisfaction as Urahara backed up with his hands raised.

Ichigo had stretched Renji out and had lain atop him by the time the eighth wave hit. 'Probably so I don't float off,' Renji thought bemusedly, barely conscious. Renji was unable to suppress hysterical giggles until the ninth wave wiped away his higher brain functions. All Renji knew now was that he was warm and safe, so when the tenth wave came he allowed it to carry him into oblivion.

P.O.V.

The sex smell Renji was giving off made Ichigo want to curl up around him and mark his territory. The human part of him was more practical, and he brought a damp washcloth to clean Renji. He knew he had scared Urahara when the man had gotten too close to Renji, so he would apologize to him once Renji woke and Ichigo knew Renji was alright. The thing Ichigo was most concerned about was the bite he had given Renji when he had come against Ichigo's stomach. The bite had turned black and changed shape, and he would have loved to get Urahara's opinion, except he should probably apologize first.

A soft knock made him turn to the door where Urahara stood. "Is it ok if I come in now?" "Yeah," Ichigo said blushing lightly, "sorry about before." Urahara nodded, "I understand. Is he ok?" Ichigo shrugged, "I think so. When he wakes up, I'll ask." Ichigo then asked Urahara what he thought about the mark on Renji's throat. Urahara shook his head "I have never seen anything like this, but it seems harmless."

Renji groaned then, and both Ichigo's and Urahara's attention focused on the waking man. Ichigo watched Renji closely for signs that he had hurt him but only found evidence that Renji was tired and ,possibly, hungry. "How do you feel?" he asked Renji. "I'm good," Renji mumbled, "just keep doing that." Looking down in surprise, Ichigo noticed that he was running his fingers through Renji's hair. He considered stopping for a moment but decided that he didn't really care, not when Renji was enjoying himself. Ichigo slid his hand up to Renji's scalp and rubbed. He smiled as Renji made a happy noise and closed his eyes again.

Urahara cleared his throat softly, and when both pairs of eyes were on him, he turned his attention to Renji. "Are you feeling alright?" Urahara asked. "I think so," Renji answered. "I'm just tired. It was intense." "Renji," Urahara began and then hesitated. Urahara stepped out of the room for a moment and came back with a hand mirror. "Take a look at your neck," Urahara said giving the mirror to Renji. Brow furrowing in confusion, Renji maneuvered the mirror so he could see his neck without leaving Ichigo's lap. At first he didn't notice anything but then the mark caught his attention. "Huh," Renji said as he reached to touch it, "what is it?" "I'm not sure," Urahara admitted "but it appeared when Ichigo bit you. Does it hurt?" "No," Renji answered distractedly "but it feels kind of warm."

Ichigo reached out and touched it but moved away as Renji made a surprised sound. "Renji?" Ichigo asked worriedly. "It's ok," Renji said "it felt different when you touched it." "Different how?" Urahara demanded. "It kinda tingled. Like when you get feeling back after your arm has been asleep." At Renji's words, Ichigo relaxed and went back to running his fingers through Renji's hair. Ichigo was enjoying himself and, if the purring was anything to go by, so was Shiro. 'Why shouldn't I be happy? You've picked a worthy mate.' 'What do you mean?' Ichigo asked Shiro. 'He is a fighter and he can obviously think for himself, but he also knows that you're King,' Shiro replied smugly.

Ichigo's attention snapped back to Renji as he shifted in Ichigo's lap. Ichigo was unable to stop the soft groan as he felt his cock swell. "Renji, you might not want to do that," Ichigo warned. When Renji rubbed his cheek over Ichigo's crotch, Ichigo grabbed him and maneuvered them so that Ichigo was pinning Renji down. Ichigo pressed biting kisses across Renji's jaw and smirked as Renji groaned and tilted his head back. Ichigo moved his mouth to the mark on Renji's neck and swiped his tongue across it. Renji surged up against him and whimpered. Eyebrows raised, Ichigo ran his tongue across the mark again, much slower this time. He was rewarded with low, needy, sounds and Renji splaying his legs so they could rub against each other better.

The sound of footsteps made Ichigo jerk his head up and fix partially blacked eyes on Urahara. Urahara gestured to the door and move towards it again. Seeing this Ichigo turned his attention back to his squirming mate.

P.O.V.

Renji was fighting with the part of himself that had kept him alive in Rukongi. It was screaming that he was showing weakness, that he would be hurt if he didn't fight. Another part of him, one that was small and quiet, was whispering that Ichigo would protect him, would offer safety. Renji was tempted to agree with the second voice, if only because he had a better grasp of the power Ichigo possessed. If Ichigo had wanted to hurt him, there would have been no way to prevent it.

Pleasure wiped the thoughts from his mind as Ichigo placed bites and licks over his inner thighs. The irrational fear gripped him as Ichigo moved towards his cock and swallowed him. Renji relaxed and ignored the mantra of 'teeth' on the back of his mind. The mark on his neck was still tingling and he allowed himself to bask in the pleasure that Ichigo would claim him in such an obvious way. Renji gave a sharp grunt as he felt Ichigo rub against his perineum. He jerked as Ichigo pressed again and he started to come. Dazed, Renji accepted the kiss Ichigo gave him. "You looked far away for a moment," Ichigo said as he ran his hand up and down his side. "Just thinking about this," Renji replied waving toward his mark. He moved so he was facing Ichigo's crotch and slid his mouth around Ichigo's crotch. He felt Ichigo's fingers start running through his hair again and settled down to giving Ichigo head. When Ichigo came he was quiet, a low grunt the only sound he made. Ichigo gathered him up and kissed him again before tucking Renji into his side and curling around him.


	5. Monster 4

**Warnings and Disclaimer in prologue.**

**Monstrous Ideas**

"Grimm-Kitty, my new brother's mate is noisy." Grimmjow considered telling Neliel, again, that his name was Grimmjow, not 'Grimm-Kitty' but he suspected it would do little good. "He is," Grimmjow replied instead. "Are you going to be noisy with him?" Neliel asked looking up at him with wide eyes. "I think Aizen hopes I will," Grimmjow muttered as he tried to find a way into the Shoten without running into anyone.

"Why hello there," came a voice from behind and Grimmjow whirled to face it. "I wonder what two arrancar would be up to, spying on my shop," Urahara mused as he reached for Benihime. Grimmjow was tempted to try and kill the interloper but he had a feeling that if Aizen didn't kill him then Kurosaki would. He decided that he would try and convince Urahara that they were not here to hurt anyone and if that failed he would find another way to approach Kurosaki. "What would I do with a shop?" Grimmjow said. "No, I need to talk to Kurosaki." "Well he _is_ mighty popular lately," Urahara said. After a moment of eyeing the pair, Urahara sighed and offered to let them come in and wait for Kurosaki to wake up. Grimmjow nodded, he hadn't expected his assignment to be this easy. "Normally I would wake him up, but he has come very close to attacking me twice today." Grimmjow sighed, 'Well at least getting into the shop was easy.'

When Grimmjow walked into the shop his nose was hit with the strong smell of sex and dried sweat. He was forced to shift and arrange himself to keep his problem from showing. Kurosaki and his mate smelled good, and he had the urge to find them so he could lick the scent off of them. He shifted again and waited for Urahara to come back with tea of all things. Grimmjow smirked as he watched Neliel try and take the white and green monstrosity off of Urahara's head. "I was surprised to see a child arrancar," Urahara began "because I don't see what good that would do Aizen." Deciding that Urahara could be a good ally in gaining Kurosaki's trust, he explained about the 'accident' "though with Nnorita involved, I doubt the accident part." Urahara nodded, "So why bring her to Ichigo? Surely there are other hollows that could watch her."

Nel piped up then, "Aizen said the other Espada would try to eat me if I stayed. He said that with Grimm-Kitty and brother Ichigo to protect me, none of them would dare hurt me. They want to be ninja sneaky," Nel finished looking at Urahara with huge watery eyes.

"You mentioned Espada. Who are they?" Grimmjow snorted, "The Espada are the top ten of us. We all have resurrection form and are basically Aizen's generals." Urahara nodded. "That makes sense I suppose. Which are you?" "I am six," Grimmjow said "and Neliel here used to be three, until this happened." Even if Neliel was not her usual self she deserved the respect that she had earned. Hearing footsteps, Grimmjow turned to watch as Ichigo and his mate came in. Ichigo looked like he was ready for a fight, his reitsu obviously agitated. The shopkeeper stepped in then to explain and defuse the situation. "This is Grimmjow and Neliel, and apparently you get a new little sister conveniently equipped with her own babysitter. Congratulations," Urahara said with a wide smile. The look Ichigo gave him in response could have melted steel. "And _why_ exactly am I getting them?" Ichigo huffed. "Because Neliel here will be eaten if you don't," Urahara replied bluntly.

Grimmjow tensed and waited to see what Kurosaki would do next. While he knew Ichigo had two younger sisters, he didn't know if he would be able or willing to transfer that familial mindset to encompass Neliel. When Ichigo sighed and accepted, Grimmjow was unable to suppress the barely audible sound of relief. Ichigo let out a soft groan and addressed Grimmjow "Okay so I get why she has to stay, what about you. Why are you here?"

"I know the way the people after her think. Also, I can watch Neliel when you have to go do human things and can't have her with you." Ichigo narrowed his eyes, "If I or mine gets hurt because of you, beyond protection detail, you die." Grimmjow believed him, this was not an attempt to brag or impress as Nnorita or Yammy would, but it was a simple brutal fact. He was starting to like Kurosaki; he had guts. Grimmjow gave a shallow nod to show he understood. As soon as he did Neliel was smacking into Kurosaki demanding 'Itsygo' pick her up. Better you than me Grimmjow thought as Kurosaki picked Neliel up and slung her on his hip.

Grimmjow turned his attention to Kurosaki's mate as the tension level decreased. The shinigami wasn't exactly what he had expected. There was none of the trademark arrogance and a complete lack of the air of superiority that Grimmjow had seen. The shopkeeper clapped his hands and Grimmjow returned his attention to Urahara. "Introductions then," Urahara stated "I am Urahara, bright red hair and tattoos is Renji, and Ichigo obviously." "Right, now what?" Grimmjow asked. He watched Kurosaki because he had the feeling that the big decisions were Kurosaki's to make. "I will take Grimmjow and Nel to my home," Kurosaki said.

"Are you entirely sure that is a good idea?" Urahara asked "your sisters…" Ichigo shook his head, "Not their house, mine. I got a separate house when we didn't know how −he− was going to affect me." Grimmjow's eyebrows rose. He who? The house was a gap in the intel, but it probably would work out better if he didn't have to worry about anyone besides Kurosaki, and Renji. That combination alone was just begging for trouble. Hopefully it would come in the form of a fight, because he could totally deal with that.

Grimmjow eyed Urahara for a moment debating on asking a question and then decided he wanted to know. "So why is it you just accepted that we were not going to hurt anyone? We could have done a lot of damage before you could have caught me." Kurosaki turned to look at Urahara obviously wanting to know that answer also. Urahara snorted, "You were either being truthful and there would be no danger, or you were lying in which case I have access to a lot of things in here that nullify threats. Or Ichigo could have decided that you were a threat to Renji and decided to deal with you personally." Grimmjow blanched and decided he was glad he had resisted the urge to get into a fight with the deranged shopkeeper. The idea of facing Kurosaki who thought his mate was in danger was not appealing. "Fair enough," he agreed.

Looking over Grimmjow saw Neliel sleeping on Kurosaki with his sleeve in her mouth. He rolled his eyes and reached over, grabbed Neliel and put her back by him. Renji started snickering, and in response to the look Kurosaki shot at him muttered "Strays" and went back to laughing. "I don't think you are in any condition to comment," Urahara pointed out. "Oh, I think I am in the perfect place," Renji replied. "Let's count: me, Rukia, Chad, Ishida, Kon, and now these two." Grimmjow made note of the names. He would hunt them down later so he knew who they were. He really didn't want a homicidal Kurosaki out for him. They would also give him an idea about what drew Kurosaki and he could tell Aizen. This didn't seem so bad, even if he was obviously out of his depth.

P.O.V.

Renji watched the Espada, 'Grimmjow and Nel, he reminded himself, as they finalized a watch schedule for Nel. Grimmjow didn't act like any of the other hollows he had encountered before. He wasn't mindless or blood thirsty… well not anymore than Captain Kenpachi was anyway, and he seemed to be capable of caring for others. It was supposed to be impossible, for any hollow, to feel anything beyond hunger and the violent emotions that came with that hunger. Obviously that wasn't true though and he couldn't help but wonder if the 13 were deliberately giving false information. He wondered if the captains knew and it was an effort to not spook the new shinigami by telling them that they were killing fully sentient beings. Maybe they didn't know. Very high level hollows were not seen often and low level hollows _were_ nothing but ravenous monsters. That much he had seen for himself.

Renji was not happy about the lack of information, but if they were being kept in the dark he didn't want to draw attention by asking 'dangerous questions.' His best bet would be to get Yoruichi to ask Toushiro because if anyone could find out, it would be him. Maybe Urahara knew where he could find Yoruichi. Renji's attention was brought back to the present when he felt Ichigo shift next to him. "You ok?" Ichigo asked. Renji nodded and explained what he had been thinking about. Ichigo frowned, "I'll contact Yoruichi later and let you explain." Renji nodded, relieved that at least this part had proved easy.

"What are you planning to do once you get your guests settled in?" Urahara asked Ichigo. "Gather information," Ichigo said "but other than that, nothing specific yet. Why?" Urahara looked uncomfortable for a moment before replying. "There are a group of people, the Vizard, who would like to meet you." Renji paid close attention to the conversation then because what he remembered about Vizard was that they were shinigami with hollows inside them. Standard procedure was to nullify Vizards on sight do to their instability, however normal they seemed at the time. A black thought crossed Renji's mind 'How true is that information?'

Ichigo turned to look closely at Urahara. "Who are these Vizard, and what do they want with me?" he asked. They probably want to test you and see how you are dealing. They may also want an alliance if all goes well." Ichigo frowned but nodded after a moment. "I will speak with them but, I can't promise anything else." Urahara nodded, "I will make the arraignments.

Renji turned his attention back to Grimmjow with some effort. If they were going to be staying in close quarters Renji was going to have to get used to him. Not that he actually _trusted_ Grimmjow or anything. Renji couldn't help thinking that there was another reason for them being here besides what Grimmjow had said. It wasn't necessarily violence but that wasn't as reassuring as it could be with Aizen being involved.

Renji wondered what Soul Society was doing. His absence would definitely have been noticed by now, and Rukia, at least, was probably wondering where he was. Renji winced as he reminded himself to explain to Byakuya what had happened. It wasn't going to be pretty, and the fact that he was Ichigo's was _not_ going to go over well. Hopefully, Byakuya would be angrier at whoever had infected him. If Ichigo didn't find them first, because Renji had the feeling that Ichigo wouldn't leave enough of whomever it was to be angry at.

P.O.V.

Ichigo could tell that Renji was nervous, but he couldn't tell what was bothering him. Not that he was real thrilled about an enemy in his home, much less around his friends, but his options were limited. If he took the Espada to his father's house the risk of his sisters getting hurt was far too high. Even if Nel and Grimmjow didn't hurt them, the chance of Karen and Yuzu getting caught in the crossfire if another shinigami did was unacceptable. He wasn't willing to leave a child to be harmed either, so his house was the only option, though Ichigo was annoyed that a part of his contingency plans was going to become public knowledge.

Ichigo made a note to tell Chad about who else knew about the house when he introduced Grimmjow and Nel to his friends. Ichigo fought not to sigh at the thought of introducing Ishida to a couple of Espada. Maybe if he tied Ishida down first it would help. It would keep the hostility to a minimum for sure but again there was the issue of getting close enough to Ishida to do so.

Urahara shifted and Ichigo returned his attention to the crazy shopkeeper. "Ok, so I'll get everyone settled in and talk to these Vizards in a couple of days." Urahara nodded and Ichigo stood. "Time to go," Ichigo said as he herded Renji, Grimmjow, and Nel out the door.


End file.
